Three Things to Consider When Setting Goals for 2017

Three Things to Consider When Setting Goals for 2017

The new year is in full swing. The Christmas lights have come down, the tree tossed, and life is practically back to normal.

Except, somethings different. There’s a new energy in the atmosphere. It’s the dawn of a new day, and the possibilities seem endless. Just think of what we could accomplish in the next 12 months if we just put our minds to it!

Whether it’s losing weight, starting a new business venture, or more travel, now is a great time to make some plans to set those dreams in forward motion. But before you do, here are a few things to consider when making the decision to tack on to your list of goals for the coming year.

1-There’s a place for optimism and realism when setting goals – both are important.

Many consider themselves optimists while others, realists. And then there are the pessimists. This distinction greatly influences the way we process information and how we view opportunities and obstacles. While I understand the argument pessimists make supporting their view of the world, I strongly disagree. What you believe is what you create, so I find the pessimist’s faith in the negative counterproductive.

While I wouldn’t recommend pessimism to anyone, being a little bit of an optimist, and a little bit of a realist can prove essential to success. It’s important to believe in yourself. It’s also important to believe you can overcome the obstacles you face and that eventually, you’ll get what you want. The problem is if you stop here you might be setting yourself up for failure.

Remember the saying, ‘hope for the best, plan for the worst’?

To overcome the obstacles headed your way, you first have to see and acknowledge their presence. That’s sensible and realistic. When you sit down to set goals, you ought to envision all the reasons why you could fail – not because you intend to fail but because you then need to plan around those obvious obstacles.

One way to discover potential obstacles is to take an honest look at your track record. What have you done in the past? How can you prevent failure in the past from becoming failure in the future?

2-Clarity and specificity are paramount when setting goals as both are the ingredients to a well-thought-out plan.

It’s useless to say, ‘I want to make more money this year’ or ‘I want to become a millionaire.’

The reason people do this, typically, is because they haven’t given a lot of thought to what they want or why they want it. It’s more of a wish than a goal. A good goal is specific, clear and detailed. It allows you to create a clear plan that provides direction and a way to measure progress. Without a clear plan, it’s hard to see when you’ve gone off course. By the time you realize you have, you may be too far off track to recover easily.

3-Why is it important to accomplish this goal NOW?

You didn’t do it last year, or the year before, why not wait till next year or the year after?

Why must you do it now?

If there’s a sense of urgency for your goal, it’s important to know where it comes from. If there’s no urgency, that’s a red flag. Urgency is what makes the impossible possible. The reason records are broken is because competition creates that urgency. The reason people work so hard at jobs they don’t like is because the need to pay bills creates that urgency.

Desire also creates urgency, so how bad do you want what you want and why do you need to have it now? These are the type of questions you should ask yourself when deciding if now is the right time to pursue a particular goal.

Setting a goal is the easy part. Anyone can do it. The harder part is reaching those goals. Depending on how high a goal you set – and you should dream big – it takes you stretching yourself and growing into a better version of yourself to reach it. This is a wonderful thing but it ain’t easy.

If you’d like to learn more about what it takes to achieve big goals, there’s a program I recommend called the 100 Day Challenge. It’s a no-nonsense, action-packed program that provides instruction on how to become a better goal achiever, not just a goal setter. I’ve gone through it, and I think it’s amazing and not for the faint of heart. But, you only live once, right? Might as well make it count!

**I’m an affiliate for the 100 Day Challenge program. If you choose to join their program using the link above I will receive compensation. I rarely recommend products. I chose to recommend this product simply because I believe in it. 🙂 **